Employment litigation is just one of the many challenges that businesses in Louisiana will likely face at some point during the course of any given year. Although most companies do their best to institute policies and procedures that will, hopefully, prevent any type of discrimination or harassment in the workplace, the reality is that instances of this type of behavior can still occur.
According to a recent report, a company based out of New Orleans has been sued by a female employee who claims that she was subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace. The woman’s lawsuit identifies both the company and an individual employee of the company as defendants. Her claim is that she was the victim of inappropriate touching in the workplace, and that she received unwanted sexual advances as well. If the claims are substantiated, both would constitute sexual harassment under employment law.
However, simply because a claim of sexual harassment is made doesn’t automatically mean it is true. The company has the right to respond to the woman’s claim. There may be an employer liability defense that could be presented to protect the company, even if an individual employee was, in fact, responsible for the sexual harassment in question.
These days many companies recognize the importance of stressing harassment-free workplaces to their employees. The policies and procedures that they have in place are meant to prevent just this type of incident. However, despite a company’s best efforts, sexual harassment in the workplace can still occur. When it does, litigation may be the result.
Source: Louisiana Record, “Waste disposal firm faces sexual harassment lawsuit,” Carrie Bradon, March 30, 2017
